Contextualizing Study Abroad: Teaching Cultural Empathy through Architectural Ethnography

How can study abroad programs for architects teach cultural empathy? My experience of leading recent study trips in Asia and Europe have shown that there are alternatives to the traditional European travel tours focused on forms of architecture, or post-disaster reconstruction projects, to examine cultural dimensions of architecture. Drawing from on-site observation of buildings in use raises cultural, social questions that are critical to understanding the forces that shape architecture. For example, students may wonder about the street-facing kitchens in houses of Tokyo, or the wood lattices that conceal a Kyoto machiya (rowhouse) store fronts instead of showcasing the products inside the shop. These inquiries in turn inform why contemporary Japanese architecture might take on forms different from the western counterparts. Reflecting upon John Dewey’s thoughts on connections between imagination and empathy, and experience and learning, this paper argues that architectural ethnography could cultivate students’ awareness in intercultural understanding.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.FALL.19.34

Volume Editors
Amy Larimer, Deborah Berke, Diana Lin, Drew Krafcik, John Barton & Sunil Bald

ISBN
978-1-944214-24-1